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Contents 1. Practical information .............................................................................................................................. 2

a) Accreditation ............................................................................................................................................. 2 b) Arrival at the airport .............................................................................................................................. 2 c) Venue............................................................................................................................................................ 2 d) Media entrance – Press badge ............................................................................................................ 3 e) Media Center ............................................................................................................................................. 3 f) Catering ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 g) Special and medical assistance .......................................................................................................... 5 h) Wi-Fi ............................................................................................................................................................. 5 i) Travel expenses ....................................................................................................................................... 5

2. The Summit .................................................................................................................................................. 6

a) Why a European Summit of Regions and Cities? ........................................................................ 6 b) The European Committee of the Regions ...................................................................................... 6 c) Summit programme ............................................................................................................................... 7 d) Web-streaming ....................................................................................................................................... 11 e) Interpretation ......................................................................................................................................... 11 f) Image disclaimer ................................................................................................................................... 11

3. MEDIA ACTIVITIES .................................................................................................................................. 12

a) Draft Media programme ..................................................................................................................... 12 b) Requesting an interview:.................................................................................................................... 16 c) Audio-visual facilities: ......................................................................................................................... 17 d) Social media ............................................................................................................................................. 18 e) Photos ........................................................................................................................................................ 19 f) POLITICO: event's official media partner .................................................................................... 19

4. Media Contacts ......................................................................................................................................... 20 5. Useful info to make the most of your visit ................................................................................. 22

a) EU-funded projects in Romania/Bucharest ................................................................................ 22 b) Tourist Information Centers ............................................................................................................. 23

Annexes: European context, Brexit, Briefings on the six thematic sessions .............................. 24

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Summit's website: https://cor.europa.eu/en/summit2019

1. Practical information

Please read this section carefully! a) Accreditation Media access and on the spot coverage of the event will only be possible with media accreditation introduced through the portal https://accreditation.romania2019.eu/ On the spot accreditation will only be approved in exceptional cases and are not recommended. Following registration, you should have received from the Romanian EU Presidency a confirmation by email that you will need to have with you to enter the venue and pick up your badge. In case you have not received the registration confirmation, no worries, this will be arranged on the spot. Badges have been printed for all journalists registered, regardless of this confirmation. But it will take more time for you to be able to get your badge and enter the building. b) Arrival at the airport You will find a Romanian Presidency information desk at the airport - as well as at your hotel. A shuttle will be made available at the airport on 13 and 14 March to take you to your hotel. It will leave regularly throughout the day. Please note that shuttles will also be available throughout the event: to take you from your hotel to the venue, from the venue to the National Opera for the gala dinner on Thursday evening, from the venue back to the airport, etc. c) Venue The 8th European Summit of Regions and Cities is being held at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest: Strada Izvor 2-4, București (Calea 13 Septembrie 1, Sector 5). Journalists will enter via the S2 entrance (2-4 Izvor Street) where they will pick up their badge (see below c) for further info.) Since 2004, the Palace of Parliament –also known as "the People's House" - hosts the Senate and The Chamber of Deputies of Romania. It is said to be the world’s second largest administrative building after the Pentagone, and the heaviest one.

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d) Media entrance – Press badge You will enter the venue via the S2 entrance on 2-4 Izvor Street, where you will pick up your badge. Please make sure to have your registration confirmation and ID card/passport ready when picking up your badge! (see point a) above in case you haven't received the registration confirmation). At the same time you will also be asked to sign the official attendance list for journalists. Security check A security check will be carried out upon arrival, so please allow for an additional 15-30 minutes at the entrance. We advise you to leave your luggage at the hotel in order to speed up the security check. Press badge Badge for journalists will be yellow in colour, as shown in the picture below:

Cloakroom There will be a guarded cloakroom in the entrance hall of the building for the duration of the event. However, as mentioned above, we recommend to avoid bringing your luggage to the event, if possible, to speed up security checks. e) Media Center

The main hub for media at the event will be the Media Centre of the Palace of Parliament It is located on the S1 floor, not far from the Media entrance. Kindly note that, due to other official events taking place at the same time, journalists will need to be accompanied by a member of the organising team should they wish to go outside the Media Center and move around the building. The Press teams of the European Committee of the Regions and of the Romanian partners, as well as a group of 15 volunteers working for the Romanian EU Presidency, will be there to assist. The Media Center is equipped with 250 work spaces with broadband, phone and ISDN connections, and 250 lockers.

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Photos for your information only:

Press area: Iulu Manu Press area- Iuliu Manu

Press Conference room - Spiru Haret:

f) Catering Your hotel reservation is breakfast included. Coffee, refreshments and finger food will be provided throughout the day in the Media Center. Lunch will be served in the Media Center on 14 March at 12:00-13:30 during the Press welcome session, and on 15 March at 14:00-15:00. On Thursday evening, a dinner reception for Summit participants will take place at the Romanian National Opera as from 20:30. Journalists invited to the Summit are more than welcome to participate (no specific dress code).

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g) Special and medical assistance

Please let us know in case you will need any special assistance during the event. There will be first aid points in the venue for the duration of the summit. h) Wi-Fi There will be free Wi-Fi access in the Media Center and throughout the building. No password is required. i) Travel expenses If you have requested so and your request has been accepted, the European Committee of the Regions has taken care of booking your flights and your hotel room. In such case, the expenses have been paid by the Committee and should therefore in no way be requested to you (in the unlikely event that this would happen, please contact us as soon as possible). Shuttles will be provided for all transfers, whether from/to the airport, from/to the venue, and from/to the National Opera for the evening diner. Kindly note that taxis expenses are not reimbursed.

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2. The Summit The word "Summit" in all EU languages:

Language Translations Language Translations

BG среща на високо равнище

IT vertice

CS Summit LT aukščiausiojo lygio susitikimas DA Topmøde LV samits DE Gipfeltreffen MT summit EL σύνοδος κορυφής NL top EN Summit PL szczyt ES Cumbre PT cimeira ET tippkohtumine RO summit FI huippukokous SI vrh FR Sommet SK samit HR Samit SV toppmöte HU csúcstalálkozó

a) Why a European Summit of Regions and Cities? The European Summit of Cities and Regions was created with the aim of ensuring that local and regional authroties fully contribute to the most important debates in the European Union. It was created by the European Committee of the Regions to supplement its day-to-day work as a consultative body to the EU's decision-making institutions. The Summit is held every two years. The Summits are normally held in the country that holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Recent summits have been held in Bratislava (2016), Athens (2014), Copenhagen (2012), Prague (2009) and Rome (2007). This tradition is being maintained this year. b) The European Committee of the Regions The Summit is organised by the European Committee of the Regions, in partnership with the Romanian EU Council Presidency and the main Romanian associations of local and regional authorities. The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is an official body of the European Union. It is an EU advisory body composed of locally and regionally elected representatives coming from all 28 Member States. Created in 1994 as the voice of regions and cities in the EU, the CoR advises on new laws that have an impact on regions and cities (70% of all EU legislation).

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The CoR is a political assembly composed of 350 members and 350 alternates from across the EU (grouped by political party and headed by the President) who have been elected at local or regional level (for example as Mayors or Presidents of a region). They come to Brussels up to six times a year to debate their opinions on proposed legislation and agree on resolutions for further action by the EU.

Main principles The CoR works to bring EU citizens closer to the EU. By involving regional and local representatives who are in daily contact with their electorate's concerns, but also by inviting citizens to participate in various events and debates, the CoR contributes to reducing the gap between the EU institutions' work and EU citizens.

Multilevel governance

Working in partnership is another pillar of the CoR's work. In other words, the CoR believes in coordinated action between the European, national, regional and local levels.

Subsidiarity The principle of subsidiarity must be complied with throughout the EU legislative process, meaning that decisions must be taken at the level of government that best serves the public interest – regionally or locally where possible. More information about the European Committee of the Regions

c) Summit programme

Main theme

The 8th edition of the Summit 2019 Summit's main theme is taking place at a critical time for the EU when important decisions will significantly shape its future, including the UK's expected exit from the EU on 29 March, the European elections in May, and negotiations on the EU long-term budget after 2020. This is why the European Committee of the Regions has chosen as main theme for this year's Summit "(Re)New EUrope". The overall objective is for EU's regions and cities to set out their vision for the future of Europe, ahead of the EU leaders meeting in Sibiu on 9 May.

Keynotes and thematic debates The programme will consist of keynote speeches followed by debates with the audience, as well as six thematic sessions. Keynote addresses will be given by:

• Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania • Vasilica Viorica Dăncilă, Prime Minister of Romania • Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission (video message) • Corina Creţu, Commissioner in charge of Regional Policy

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Six thematic debates will be held on: 1) Social cohesion and integration in regions and cities; 2) EU regions and cities building a sustainable future; 3) Territorial cohesion to bring the EU’s citizens together; 4) Active subsidiarity; 5) Strengthening European democracy; and 6) Young local and regional leaders' expectations from the EU.

Brexit: Debate with Michel Barnier Just two weeks ahead of the planned date for Brexit (29 March), the EU's Chief Negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, will join the Summit. He is expected to discuss the impact of Brexit on the EU's regions and cities, how the EU will support those most exposed, as well as lessons learnt for Europe's future. Please note that a press conference is planned on Brexit on 14 March at 19:30 (see media programme).

150 young elected politicians to join the Summit 100 young local and regional politicians have been invited to Bucharest to contribute to the debate on the future of Europe. The young leaders will share their views on issues on the future of Europe; how the EU can establish a permanent exchange with young local and regional leaders; and what the regions, cities, parliaments and political parties can do to increase their engagement in European politics. Journalists will have the opportunity to meet them on 15 March, 10:00-10:30, in room Alexandru I. Cuza (see media programme).

Better EU regulation: Launch of the Network of Regional Hubs As cities and regions are responsible for delivering two-thirds of EU legislation, the Committee is setting up a Network of “Regional Hubs" (#RegHub) to allow them to further contribute to the monitoring, assessment and improvement of EU laws. The event will see the official launch of the initiative with the 20 participating regions for the pilot phase (2019-2020). Journalists will have the opportunity to meet representatives of the 20 regions selected for the project on 15 March, 12:00-12:15, room Nicolae Iorga (see media programme)

Summit's Declaration

The Summit will conclude with the adoption of a Declaration by local and regional leaders on "Building the EU from the ground up with our regions and cities", which will be formally handed over to the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. The Declaration will serve as the position of regions and cities to the leaders of the EU institutions and Heads of State and Government who will gather in Sibiu, Romania, on 9 May to discuss the future of the EU.

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The draft Declaration is available under "General documents" in all languages on the following page: https://memportal.cor.europa.eu/Agenda/Documents?meetingId=2156808&meetingSessionId=2194470 (the final version of the Declaration will be adopted by the CoR Bureau – the body that manages the CoR – on 14 March, Thursday morning.)

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"Building the EU from the ground up with our regions and cities"

Bucharest Declaration (draft)

European Committee of the Regions 8th European Summit of Regions and Cities, 14-15 March 2019

The European Union, built on the principles of liberty, solidarity, democracy and respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, has brought lasting peace and development to the people of Europe. Europe is being transformed at an unprecedented speed by globalisation, by the digital revolution, climate, and demographic change. If we do not want European integration to become a reversible process, these transformations, which crystalize social, economic and territorial inequalities, have to be accompanied, shaped and regulated through a concerted effort of all levels of government, in particular when one third of all public expenditure and more than half of public investment is carried out at the sub-national level. Furthermore, trust in the local and regional levels of governance on average is higher than trust in national government, and in most Member States it is also higher than trust in the EU. Against this background, the EU's cities and regions, and their elected representatives, provide proximity, trust and stability in the Union at a time when divergences and antagonisms are growing. This stability is vital to continue building a shared European future for the next generation. We, European Union politicians elected at regional and local level, are convinced that the European Union needs its regions and cities as much as they need the European Union. This declaration is our contribution to the preparation of the Strategic Agenda 2019-2024 to be outlined by the EU leaders in Sibiu on 9 May 2019. Strengthening the democratic foundation of the European Union

1. Local and regional democracy is an essential part of EU democracy. Multi-level governance is essential to ensure the active and equal participation of all levels of government in a spirit of trust. This loyal cooperation between all levels is essential for the EU to be able to deliver on its objective of economic and social progress for its citizens wherever they live, and in a fully accountable, efficient and transparent way;

2. Applying the concept of "active subsidiarity" is crucial to allow

decisions to reflect European added value and to be taken as close to citizens as possible in a fully accountable, efficient and transparent way;

3. While respecting national frameworks, more decentralisation

and a better division of powers are essential elements of good governance because they increase transparency, accountability and quality of policy-making with a better engagement with citizens;

4. The link between the Union and its citizens should be reinforced. We support the demand for more channels of democratic participation. We actively support the launch of an EU permanent system of citizen's consultations;

5. It is vital to raise awareness amongst EU citizens, especially

young people, about the European dimension of their identity and citizenship, in particular through education, culture and youth empowerment policies, in order to increase their feeling of belonging to the European project;

Anchoring the EU's action locally to build a better future for

our citizens 6. Regions and cities are at the forefront of the implementation of

the Sustainable Development Goals, which should become the EU's over-arching long-term economic model, succeeding the Europe 2020 Strategy. Cities and regions should also be empowered to fully play their role in achieving the transition towards a carbon neutral and sustainable Europe;

7. The single market should be complemented by policies which

guarantee the exercise of the single market's freedoms by everyone and guarantee fairness and social justice. The social dimension of the EU should be strengthened to allow for social rights to be put on a par with economic rights. Successful European social inclusion policies, and in particular the policies for integrating migrants, are not conceivable without local and regional authorities being provided with adequate means and direct access to appropriate EU funding;

8. Tackling the persistent economic, social and territorial

disparities remains a major challenge for the future of the EU. Cohesion policy, notably through European territorial cooperation, has proven its added value for the EU and should be preserved beyond 2020 for all regions, based on the principles of a place-based approach, European partnerships, shared management and multi-level governance;

9. The level of public investment in the EU remains too low to

provide the right public infrastructure and services. Closing the public investment gap is therefore crucial. The EU should allow for the necessary room for manoeuvre for local and regional authorities to support their investments;

10. EU leaders need to provide the European Union with an

ambitious budget capable of withstanding the challenges ahead and enabling the design of lasting and sustainable EU policies. In a context of political, social and environmental urgency, we therefore call for a rapid agreement on the next multi-annual financial framework along the lines already set out by the European Parliament and the European Committee of the Regions.

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d) Web-streaming All Summit's sessions will be recorded live and broadcast on the event website: www.eulocal-summit.eu. e) Interpretation Consecutive interpreting will be provided during all the Summit's sessions, as well as for the press conferences. For details about language coverage for a specific session/press conference, please consult the Summit programme online1. f) Image disclaimer During the Summit, you may be photographed or filmed by a photographer or camera operator working on behalf of the CoR. Please note that the CoR is responsible solely for photos and videos taken by its staff or contractors. For more information, please consult the Legal notice2 of the European Committee of the Regions.

1 https://cor.europa.eu/en/summit2019/Pages/programme.aspx 2 https://cor.europa.eu/en/Pages/legal-notice.aspx

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3. MEDIA ACTIVITIES a) Draft Media programme Please note that this may be subject to last minute changes. Thursday 14 March 2019

12:00-13:30 Press welcome Theme: Short introduction to the Summit: your questions answered Where: Media Center – Iuliu Manu (1st floor) Who will be there: European Committee of the Regions Press Team Welcome by Serafino Nardi, Head of Press, Committee of the Regions Language: EN Lunch will be provided

12:30-13:00 In parallel with the Press welcome

Press conference (room Spiru Haret) Speakers: • Corina Crețu - Commissioner for Regional Policy • Robert Sorin Negoiță, President of the Romanian Delegation at CoR/President

of the Romanian Municipalities Association • Marian Oprișan, President of the National Union of County Councils of

Romania • Mădălin-Ady Teodosescu, President of the Association of Romanian Towns • Emil Drăghici, President of the Association of Romanian Communes • Tatiana Badan, President of the Congress of the Local Authorities of Moldavia Language: RO

13:30-14:15 Press conference

Theme: Proximity, Democracy, Solidarity - the EU's future priorities to preserve cohesion in Europe Where: Press conference room Spiru Haret (same floor as the Media Center) Speakers: • Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions • Gabriela Firea, Mayor of Bucharest • Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for

Europe, United Nations • Robert Sorin Negoiță, Mayor of Bucharest-3rd District 3, President of the

Association of Romanian Municipalities and President of the Romanian delegation to the European Committee of the Regions

Romania leads the EU at a time when important decisions will shape the future of

Europe, and in particular the UK's expected exit from the EU on 29 March, the European elections in May and negotiations on the EU long-term budget after 2020. At a time of growing populism, the Romanian EU Presidency and the European Committee of the Regions have placed cohesion at the centre of their priorities. Referring to the main challenges facing Europe today, the speakers will set out the purpose of the Summit and what reform is needed to preserve the cohesion of the European Union. Moderator: Serafino Nardi, Head of Press, European Committee of the Regions Interpretation: EN/RO ; passive: EN/RO/FR

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14:30-16:00 Opening session Where: room Alexandru I. Cuza Speeches by: • Gabriela Firea, Mayor of Bucharest • Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions • Vasilica Viorica Dăncilă, Prime Minister of Romania • Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for

Europe, United Nations

Followed by a debate with the audience

16:00-16:30 Coffee break 16:30-18:00 Thematic debates | Making a difference to people’s lives

Speakers: • Annika Annerby Jansson, President of the Regional Council of Skåne,

Sweden • Philippe Close, Mayor of Brussels, Belgium • Adrian Florin Dobre, Mayor of the Municipality of Ploiești, Romania (2) EU regions and cities building a sustainable future (room Nicolae Iorga) Speakers: • Markku Markkula, First Vice-President of the European Committee of the

Regions • Magnus Berntsson, President of the Assembly of European Regions and of

R20 (Regions for climate action) and Regional Minister of the Environment and Vice-President of the Regional Council of Västra Götaland, Sweden

• Vasco Alves Cordeiro, President of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions and of the Regional Government of Azores, Portugal

• Astrid Fodor, Mayor of the Municipality of Sibiu, Romania

(3) Territorial cohesion to bring the EU’s citizens closer (room Alexandru Cuza) Speakers: • Corina Crețu, European Commissioner for Regional Policy • Rena Dourou, Regional Governor of Attica, Greece • Juraj Droba, President of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region, Slovakia • Oliver Paasch, President of the Association of European Border Regions and

Minister-President of the German-speaking Community of Belgium

18:15-19:15 Debate between Michel Barnier and EU's regional & local leaders Where: room Alexandru I. Cuza Building a common future: what lessons learnt from Brexit? Speaker: • Michel Barnier, EU's Chief Negotiator for Brexit In the context of Brexit and the Summit's Declaration on the future of Europe, Michel Barnier will discuss the role of regions and cities in EU policy-making to build a stronger Europe.

19:30-20:00 Press conference Theme: Brexit: What impact on EU's regions and cities and lessons learnt? Where: Press conference room Spiru Haret Speakers:

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• Michel Barnier, EU's Chief Negotiator for Brexit (tbc) • Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions speakers will answer questions from the press on the impact of Brexit on the EU's regions and cities. They will discuss how the EU will support cities and regions most exposed to Brexit, and lessons learnt for the future of the EU. They will also react to recent calls from regions for improved access to funding in the next EU long-term budget needed to support the regions most affected.

Moderator (tbc) Interpretation: EN/RO ; passive: EN/RO/FR

20:00- 22:00 Reception and cultural event Where: Romanian National Opera (shuttles will transfer participants to the venue) Welcome by: • Gabriela Firea, Mayor of Bucharest, Romania • Robert Sorin Negoiță, President of the Romanian Delegation at the CoR,

President of the Romanian Municipalities Association Accredited journalists are welcome to attend the reception (no dress code)

Friday 15 March 2019

09:00-10:00 Keynote and debate: Building the EU from the ground up with our regions & cities Where: room Alexandru I. Cuza Welcoming remarks by: • Vasile-Daniel Suciu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development

and Public Administration Working together to reinforce Europe - Keynote speeches: • Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission (video message) • Corina Creţu, Commissioner in charge of Regional Policy

10:00-10:30 10:00-10:30

Coffee break Interview opportunities Who: 100 young elected politicians Theme: What do young people expect from the EU? How to increase young people engagement in European affairs? Room: Alexandru I. Cuza Following a call for interest, 150 young local and regional politicians have been invited to Bucharest to contribute to the debate on the future of Europe. The selected young representatives will share their views on issues such as how to better involve young elected politicians in European affairs; how the European Committee of the Regions can establish a permanent exchange with young local and regional leaders?; and what the EU regions, cities, parliaments and political parties can do to increase their engagement in European affairs.

10:30-12:00 Thematic debates | The way forward for EU democratic revival (4) Active subsidiarity: shaping Europe together (room: Nicolae Iorga) Speakers:

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• Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission (video message)

• Călin Ionel Dobra, President of Timiș County Council, Romania; • Peter Kaiser, Governor of Carinthia, Austria; • Dan Nica, Member of the European Parliament / Victor Boştinaru, Member of the

European Parliament; • Donatella Porzi, President of the Conference of European Regional Legislative

Assemblies and President of the regional assembly of Umbria, Italy; (5) Strengthening European democracy: citizens' participation through local and regional authorities (room: Nicolae Bălcescu) Speakers: • Luca Jahier, President of the European Economic and Social Committee • Elżbieta Anna Polak, Marshal of the Lubuskie Voivodeship, Poland • Gilles Simeoni, President of the Executive Council of Corsica, France • Bettina Vollath, President of the regional assembly of Styria, Austria (6) What young local and regional leaders expect from the EU Room: Alexandru I. Cuza Speakers: • Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdansk, Poland; • Bogdan Matei, Minister of Youth and Sports, Romania; • Jiří Štěpán, Governor of the Hradec Králové Region, Czech Republic; • Anna Widegren, Secretary General of the European Youth Forum.

12:00-12:15 Interview opportunities

Theme: Launching of the Network of Regional Hubs project Where: room Nicolae Iorga Who will be there: • Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions • Representatives of the 20 regions selected to participate in the pilot phase of the

project The CoR President and representatives of the 20 regions selected for the project will be available for media interviews to present and discuss the initiative. The European Union is often criticised for producing too many, too bureaucratic laws, which can be seen as interfering with the lives of citizens and business. The European Commission has responded to this criticism by giving priority to "Better Regulation", aiming at avoiding unnecessary burdens and red tape, encouraging citizens and stakeholders' contribution to policy-making, and ensuring that EU action is based on evidence and clearly assessed impacts. Considering that two-thirds of EU legislation are implemented at local and regional level, cities and regions have valuable first-hand experience in applying EU rules on the ground. As the institutional voice of regions and cities in the EU, the CoR is uniquely placed to collate the experience from cities and regions in the implementation of European law, and channel it back to the EU legislators. With this in mind, the Committee is setting up a pilot project (2019-2020) consisting of a Network of "Regional Hubs" (contact points) to monitor and assess the implementation of EU legislation locally. The initiative was one of the recommendations of the European Commission's Subsidiarity Task Force and is part of the "New way of working" advocated by the Task Force. Following a call for applications and based on a set of specific criteria, the Committee has selected 20 regions to serve as regional hubs during the pilot phase of the project.

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See the list of participating regions 12:30-12:55 Closing: The path to Sibiu and beyond

Delivery of the Summit Declaration "Building the EU from the ground up with our regions and cities" • Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions The Summit Declaration by local and regional leaders on the future of Europe will be formally handed over to the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. The Declaration will serve as the position of regions and cities to the leaders of the EU institutions and Heads of State and Government who will gather in Sibiu, Romania, on 9 May to discuss the future of the EU27. Keynote speech: Governing the EU together with its regions and cities: • Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania

12:55-13:00 Closing remarks

• Markku Markkula, First Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions • Rovana Plumb, Minister of European Funds, Romania

•

13:00-14:00 Press Conference Theme: What does the future hold for an EU of 27? Where: Press conference room Spiru Haret Speakers: • Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions • Romanian EU Presidency representative (tbc) The future of the European Union has dominated much of the EU’s agenda since mid-2016, when a majority of British people voted to leave the Union. Referring to the Summit Declaration, the speakers will set out what the EU27's priorities must be and how to strengthen its democratic legitimacy among citizens. The speakers will discuss the current challenges facing Europe, and the future role of regions and cities in the EU through improved governance, decision-making and investment. Interpretation: EN/RO ; passive: EN/RO/FR

14:00-15:00 Lunch Media Center

b) Requesting an interview: Should you wish to organise a bilateral interview with the President of the European Committee of the Regions, members of the Committee, the Summit's speakers, one of the young elected representatives attending the Summit, or any other participants, please fill in the following Interview request form: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/Interview_Request_Form The form contains among others:

• the list of all the members of the European Committee of the Regions who will participate in the event;

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• the list of the contact persons for the main Speakers; • the list of local and regional elected representatives outside the Committee and

who will also be present; • the list of the "Young elected representatives" who will take part in the debates; • the contact details of the press officers of the Committee's political groups, to

facilitate contact with the Committee's members. Please note that you can submit your interview requests via this form until March 12th included at the latest. In case you want to interview a member of the Committee, it may prove easier and quicker to get to them via the press officer working for his/her political group in the CoR. Here are the contact details of the CoR political groups' press officers. Feel free to get in touch with them directly whilst putting your usual contact from the CoR's press service in copy (see Media contact list further below):

Press contacts at the European Committee of the Regions' Political Groups:

• EPP: o For the Romanian press: Raluca.Norel@cor.europa.eu ; +32 475 65 13 00 o For other press: Heli.NiemelaFarrer@cor.europa.eu ; +32 470 72 22 23

• PES: monica.tiberi@cor.europa.eu ; mobile: +32 479 51 74 43 • ALDE: Frederik.Francois@cor.europa.eu ; mobile: +32 (0)479 64 70 68 • European Alliance: Endrik.Marfia@cor.europa.eu ; mobile:+32 476 70 65 60 • ECR: Neva.Sadikoglu@cor.europa.eu ; mobile: +32 470 95 19 73

c) Audio-visual facilities: During the Summit, audiovisual facilities are at made available for TV and radio journalists. Those facilities include:

• A stand-up

The stand-up is at your disposal in the media centre, no reservation is needed to make use of this facility; you can access it whenever available. If you have any question on the spot please contact Cynthia Deschamps +32 497 68 32 66.

• An editor Our editor can help you editing short news reports. Please contact Cynthia Deschamps +32 497 68 32 66 for bookings on the spot.

• Soundproofed media booths Media booths with power outlets, broadband, LAN connection to get access to live recordings (some of the booths are also equipped with ISDN) are available upon request. Radio journalists can make live streaming via ISDN and the Internet. Journalists must have the appropriate equipment for these connections, with related connectivity, microphones, recorders, etc.

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Please contact Cynthia Deschamps +32 497 68 32 66 for bookings on the spot.

• A TV studio The TV-studio is at your disposal to organize TV debates (max 4 person around the table). Please contact Margherita Sforza +32 476 60 39 88 for bookings on the spot.

Audiovisual material: part of the programme will be broadcasted on EbS (Europe by Satellite http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/ebs/schedule.cfm). You will be able to download broadcast quality images from there to edit your news reports (an account first needs to be created – this will take you no more than 2 min - to be able to download the images)

DAY 1 – 14/03 (on EBS blue) 14h30-16h Opening session 16h30-18h Debate (3) Territorial cohesion to bring the EU's citizens together 18h15-19h15 Debate with EU regional and local leaders (Barnier) 19:30-20:00 Press Conference DAY 2 – 15/03 (on EBS+ green) 9h-10h Building the EU from the ground up with our regions and cities 12h30-12h55 Delivery of the Summit Declaration 12h55-13h Closing remarks 13:00-14:00 Press Conference After registering, you click on the grid the event that interests you. The images are only available once the event is over, images are available 1-2 hours after an event. When images are available, you see a thumbnail appearing. You click on the image. It brings you to the specific page of the event. You are then asked to log in to download. Log in with the Username and password you have set (your just need to create an account). Once logged in, under the image, Click on the relevant definition icon of your chosen video.

Your AV contacts on the spot:

• For the studio: Margherita Sforza +32 476 60 39 88 ms@msforza.eu • For the stand-up, editing, media booth: Cynthia Deschamps +32 497 68 32 66

cydeschamps@outlook.com • For content & general questions: Laura Serassio +32 487 14 53 82

Laura.Serassio@cor.europa.eu d) Social media

To share your reaction on the Summit and engage with others via Twitter, please use #EUlocal

A wide variety of social media visuals are also available for download on the Summit website in 4 languages (EN, FR, DE, RO):

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• Visuals (images and GIFs) • Trailer videos:

Feel free to use them for your own purpose. e) Photos High resolution photos will be available for free download on the Flickr gallery of the European Committee of the Regions: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cor-photos/ (also accessible from the Summit's Media page) f) POLITICO: event's official media partner POLITICO Europe, leading media for EU news, is the media official partner of the Summit. POLITICO Europe is the European edition of the American news organization Politico reporting on the politics, policy and personalities of the European Union.

POLITICO Pro – Free trial

As the official media partner of the Summit, POLITICO is offering attending journalists a 2 week complimentary trial of its POLITICO Pro version, POLITICO’s premium policy intelligence service. With POLITICO Pro, expert journalists based in Brussels, London, Paris, Berlin and beyond provide readers with breaking news and deep analysis on issues from Brexit, EU core policies, Climate change, Sustainability, Trade and more.

To claim your free 2 week trial, just email pro@politico.eu with the code "COR".

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4. Media Contacts

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Media contacts with the Romanians partners:

Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration:

Mihai Melinescu Communications, Promotion and Organisation Department E-mail: mihai.melinescu@mae.ro Phone: +40 374 344 008

Adrian Epure: E-mail: adrian.epure@mdrap.ro Phone: +40726 132 509.

Association of Municipalities of Romania: Rodica Barsan: amr@amr.ro Tel.: 0040721 212 951 Spokespersons for the Romanian Presidency

DORIS MIRCEA SPOKESPERSON FOR PRESIDENCY Tel: +40.730.709.809 E-mail: doris.mircea@mae.ro

NELU BARBU SPOKESPERSON FOR PRESIDENCY Tel: +40.741.252.555 E-mail: nelu.barbu@gov.ro

MEDIA MATERIALS summary: Photos for free use: https://www.flickr.com/photos/euregionsweek/ For specific photo requests: photoCoR@cor.europa.eu Video highlights will be broadcast by EBS at: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/ebs/schedule.cfm Summit's video trailers: https://www.youtube.com/user/pressecdr Summit's visuals for download can be found under the "Social media Toolkit" section of the Summit's Media page: https://cor.europa.eu/en/summit2019/Pages/media.aspx

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5. Useful info to make the most of your visit a) EU-funded projects in Romania/Bucharest In case you would like to expand your news report with examples of EU-financed projects in Romania, you will find below some examples of projects you can choose from. Should you wish to go on the spot, take some images and/or interview the project manager, you are invited to contact the responsible person, as indicated in the table below. For more general questions on EU-funded projects in Romanian, please contact Iulia.COSTEA@ec.europa.eu, Press assistant at the European Commission Representation in Bucharest.

Projects Location Contact

Restauration of the museum Casa Cesianu

https://muzeulbucurestiului.ro/en/the-filipescu-cesianu-house.html

Bucharest Irina Bologa, manager proiect Tel.: 021.317.55.00/2067 sau 2052 E-mail: irina.bologa@pmb.ro

The building of the Romanian Patriarchate, http://patriarhia.ro/en/

Bucharest Preot Liviu Nechita Tel : 0214067166, 0723500692 nechitaliviu@yahoo.com; palatul.patriarhiei@patriarhia.ro

The Astronomical Observatory Admiral Vasile Urseanu http://www.astro-urseanu.ro/

Bucharest Irina Bologa, manager proiect Tel.: 021.317.55.00/2067 sau 2052 E-mail: irina.bologa@pmb.ro

The Dr. Nicolae Minovici Museum was the first museum dedicated to folk art in Bucharest https://muzeulbucurestiului.ro/en/nicolae-minovici-folk-art-museum.html

Bucharest Irina Bologa, manager proiect Tel.: 021.317.55.00/2067 sau 2052 E-mail: irina.bologa@pmb.ro

The rehabilitation and modernization of the integrated ambulatory belonging to the Hospital for Children, Dr. Victor Gomoiu http://spitalgomoiu.ro/

Bucharest Dragos Dimitriu, Dragos.Dimitriu@pmb.ro, tel. 0764913350

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b) Tourist Information Centers If you would like to enjoy some time off in Bucharest before or after the Summit, you may want to contact the Tourist Information Center: http://visitorcenter.ro/ Alternatively, you can get in touch with "Bucharest City Info": https://www.bucharestcityinfo.com/ or "Romania Natural and Cultural" http://romaniatourism.com/bucharest.html

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Annex 1: European context 2019 finds the European Union at a crossroads. Within just a few months, the European political landscape will change in many ways: as of the end of March (or later, depending on the vote of the House of Parliament planned on 12 March 2019), the European Union will have to find its way forward in a new configuration of 27 members, under the leadership of the EU Heads of State meeting in Sibiu (Romania) on 9 May. In May, EU citizens will also vote in the European elections to choose a new European Parliament. In June, the European Council will nominate a new President for the European Commission. Across the summer period, the priorities of the new Commission will emerge. Hearings at the European Parliament will be the basis for the vote to confirm the College of new Commissioners in October. The newly appointed European Commissioner should be taking up duties in November. By the end of the year, the new EU's long-term budget will define the financial means available to take the EU vision forward over the next seven years. At this crucial moment for the future of the Union, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) acts to bring forward the views of regions and cities. The Bucharest Summit will adopt a Declaration on "Building the EU from the ground up with our regions and cities". It will represent the contribution of EU's regions and cities to the EU leaders' discussions on the Future of Europe in Sibiu on 9 May 2019. Current state of debate on the role of regions and cities in Europe In the aftermath of the UK’s decision to leave the Union, the EU launched a thorough reflection on the Future of Europe. The debate has gained new momentum: the acceleration of the negotiations with the UK on its withdrawal from the EU, the electoral results in some EU Member States, and the campaign for the European Parliament elections in May, have all deepened the debate and increased the visibility of the positions of the actors involved. It is in this context that the debate on the role of regions and cities in Europe also developed, with the adoption in October 2018 of the Report "Reflecting on Europe: the voice of regional and local authorities to rebuild trust in the European Union". The Report, responding to a request from the President of the European Council, was adopted after careful preparation and lengthy consultation: up to December 2018, in the framework of its "Reflecting on Europe" campaign, the CoR organised more than 180 citizens' dialogues throughout Europe, involving about 160 of its members and reaching out to 40,000 citizens. The Report fundamentally highlights the need to re-build trust in the European project and reconnect it to citizens through: • listening to citizens' and cities and regions' concerns and meeting their expectations

in terms of more solidarity, cohesion and proximity; • focusing on the territorial dimension of EU policies; • empowering EU action through the proper application of the principle of subsidiarity;

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• facilitating citizens' participation by means of a "permanent and structured dialogue" between citizens, EU institutions, while involving local and regional authorities through the CoR.

In October 2018, the CoR President gave his yearly speech on the "State of the Union from the point of view of cities and regions". President Lambertz stated that the Union needs "more than just a change of time, but a change of direction and of method", giving regions and cities a greater say in shaping its future. The President also called for a stronger say in EU decision-making for regions and cities, stressing that "weakening our cities and regions is to weaken our Union. This must not be part of our blueprint for the future. Quite the opposite: by strengthening our territories we strengthen our Union". In December 2018, the CoR President and the President of the European Economic and Social Committee made a call for setting up an "EU permanent mechanism for structured consultations and dialogues with citizens". They proposed to build up on the experience developed in both Committees in organizing citizens' dialogues to establish a more permanent consultation mechanism with citizens, cities, regions and civil society during the next EU mandate (2019-2024). Regions and cities are also at the forefront in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but most importantly to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Inclusion of regions and cities in the design of EU policies is crucial so that they can contribute to the implementation of climate, energy and environmental objectives. Timeline – Political debate on the future of Europe/ role of cities and regions Main steps at EU institutional level: • June 2016, following the UK referendum: EU leaders launch a process of in-depth

reflection on the future of Europe

• 16 September 2016: EU-27 Heads of State and Government, Bratislava Declaration and Roadmap

• 25 March 2017: EU-27 Heads of State and Government's Rome Declaration

• 1 March 2017: European Commission's White Paper on the Future of Europe; five thematic Reflection Papers followed: on the Social dimension of Europe, on Harnessing Globalisation, on the Deepening of the European Monetary Union, on the Future of European Defence and on the Future of EU finances.

• January 2018 – July 2018: work of the Task Force on Subsidiarity, Proportionality and "Doing Less More Efficiently". Established by the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and resided by Commission's Vice President Timmermans, the task force was composed by representatives of the CoR and of national parliaments.

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• The CoR welcomed the final report of the Task Force which recommends a "New way of working" for the EU, by giving give local and regional authorities a greater say, alongside national authorities, in the preparation, adoption and implementation of EU policies

• 12 September 2018: "State of the Union" speech by the European Commission's President and launch of the Commission's online consultation on the Future of Europe

• 13-14 December 2018: European Council: EU leaders assess the outcome of the Citizens' Dialogues and Citizens' Consultations held in the EU member states. They agree that, during their informal meeting in Sibiu on 9 May 2019, they will discuss priorities for the next EU mandate.

***

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Annex 2 : BREXIT and the role of regions and cities

Main messages of the CoR:

• we should avoid an exit of the UK from the EU without an agreement and the consequences this would have on regions and cities;

• given the geographically uneven impact of Brexit, the EU must ensure that local and regional governments are not left alone to deal with its effects;

• a new border between Ireland and Northern Ireland needs to be avoided;

• future relationship between the UK and the EU should be facilitated. This includes close cooperation with the regions, cities, and businesses of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Policy context • On 15 January 2019, the House of Commons rejected the withdrawal agreement that

the EU had agreed with the UK government in November 2018, an agreement which was the result of more than 17 months of intense negotiations. Those negotiations started shortly after the UK formally notified the European Council of its intention to leave the EU by triggering Article 50 of the Treaty on 29 March 2017.

• UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced in February 2019 that the House of

Commons would have the final vote on the issue "before 12 March". If the vote fails, the UK Parliament will vote on 13 March on leaving the EU without a deal. If that motion is rejected, the UK parliament will vote again on 14 March to delay Brexit, by extending Article 50. If that vote succeeds, the EU will ask the EU to agree to an extension. EU leaders will meet on 21-22 March.

Work on Brexit done by the CoR: • Liaison with the EU's chief negotiator: Michel Barnier has addressed the CoR twice,

on 22 March 2017 and on 6 December 2018. His speech to the CoR in March 2017 was his first major statement on Brexit since taking up his post.

• Politician recommendations: In two resolutions adopted in March 2017 and May 2018, the CoR has placed the emphasis on securing peace and ensuring no border is erected on the Irish border, while calling for the EU to ensure that local and regional governments are not left to deal with the effects of Brexit alone. The CoR supports a future relationship with the EU that enables close cooperation with the regions, cities, businesses and universities of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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• Political consultations: Since 2016, the CoR has held meetings with the Local Government Association in London, the UK Parliament's Scottish Affairs Select Committee, the Government, the Parliament, and the Convention of Local Authorities of Scotland, the National Assembly of Wales, and the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.

• In-house political platform: In January 2018, the CoR set up and Interregional group on Brexit, which has 22 members from different Member states. The Group recently called for support for regions impacted if there is a shift in status from internal to external border.

• Surveys and studies: The CoR has conducted: o a mapping exercise of members of the CoR to ascertain the possible impact of the

UK's withdrawal on their regions and cities; o together with Eurochambres, a survey of local and regional authorities and local

chambers of commerce on their assessment of Brexit and their preparations; o a study assessing the impact of Brexit on specific regions (in BE, DE, ES, FR and

PL) and sectors (automotive industry; machinery; electronics; textiles and furniture; food; chemicals and plastics).

Bucharest Summit: debate with Mr Barnier, EU's Chief Negotiator for the United Kingdom exiting the European Union. Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the CoR, will give a short introduction. Mr Barnier will then be asked a number of questions. Possible questions include: • Following the recent vote of the House of Commons, what is the schedule for the next

weeks and months? • What are the three most important lessons learnt from Brexit, which the EU

institutions should take into account for their agenda in the years to come? • Looking back over two years of negotiations, what were the key moments during the

negotiations? • What is your advice to local leaders in both the EU27 and the UK concerning the

impact on and the future relationship between regions and cities on both sides of the channel?

Mr Barnier will then take two rounds of questions from politicians. There is no pre-agreed line-up of questioners. During the debate, the audience will itself be asked to respond to questions via Sli.do. One likely question is: • "What is in your view the key lesson learned from Brexit for the future of the EU?"

(The EU is now more united; the EU is more divided than ever; the EU needs an institutional reform; the EU needs to be more democratic; the EU needs to be better communicated; other)

Possible questions from CoR members:

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Members of the CoR have discussed the implications of Brexit at plenary sessions in March 2017, December 2017 (26 interventions), May 2018, December 2018 (33 interventions) and February 2019 (10 interventions). Issues raised by CoR members included: • Problems of EU citizens in the UK: PL (Podkarpackie, Bialystok), SK (Bratislava

region), RO (Cluj-Napoca), CY (Deryneia). • Uncertainties for UK citizens: From BE (Brussels), MT (mayor), ES (Murcia, Valencia,

Asturias, Basque Country) • Island of Ireland: Peace and business – input from Northern Ireland (UUP head of the

local-government association), Tipperary, Cork, Dublin, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Sligo, Country Leitrim.

• Freedom of movement: BE (Flanders), CZ (Liberec). • Investment: ES (Madrid), SE (Stockholm) • Ports: BE (Flanders; see also this CoR-commissioned case study), NL (for Rotterdam)

and DE (Hamburg), Ireland (Cork). • Fisheries: FR (Hauts-de-France; see also this CoR-commissioned case study), DE

(Lower Saxony) and DK (Jutland). • Travel and tourism: PT (Sintra), ES (Valencia). • Agriculture: ES (Catalonia; Logrono, close to Gibraltar; see also this CoR-

commissioned case study) and FR (Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine). • Automotive industry: SK (Bratislava), AU (Styria). • Research and education: DE (Berlin), SE (close to Gothenburg). • UK: From Northern Ireland (head of the local-government association), Wales

(Welsh assembly), Scotland (Renfrewshire) and England (London, Birmingham, Kirklees, Newcastle, Burnley, Essex).

Facts and figures • Economic importance: With a share of 16% of the EU’s total GDP in 2016, the UK is the

EU’s second-biggest economy after Germany (21.1%) and before France (15%) (Eurostat data).

• Economic impact: Estimates suggest that they may be between -3 and -6% of GDP for

the UK (or up to £7,000 per household/year) and -1% - 2% for the EU27. • Economic impact – by region: Most studies say that Brexit will have a geographically

uneven effect on both regions in the UK and in EU 27. The impact is estimated to be proportionally higher for regions and cities in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, which are significantly more dependent on UK-EU27 trade, followed by regions in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. The regions most exposed are non-core regions in the UK, such as the Midlands and the North of England, many of which voted for Brexit. UK regions typically exhibit Brexit trade-related risks exposure of the order of 10–17% of regional GDP, with Irish regions also displaying values of the order of 10% of GDP. The Irish regions have levels of Brexit-related risk exposure which are similar to the UK regions with the lowest levels of Brexit exposure, namely London and parts of Northern Scotland.

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• People and employment: 3.16 million EU citizens live in the UK vs 1.22 million UK

citizens living in EU27. With a population of 65 million, the UK is the third most populous country in EU28. Studies estimate up that Brexit could cause job losses of 600,000 around the world, of which some 100,000 alone could be in Germany.

• Trade: in 2016, the UK exported 48% of its goods and services to the 27 other EU

member states and imported 55% from the former while EU27 exports total of 8% of its GDP.

• EU Budget: The UK’s payment obligations for current and previous budget periods

('financial settlement' or 'Brexit bill') are estimated by EU sources to be in the order of EUR +/- 50 billion; net effects on the EU budget post-2020 ('Brexit gap') are estimated to be EUR in the order of 10-12 billion p.a. representing some 7-8% of the current annual EU budget.

The map (Wen Chen et al., 2018) depicts the GDP exposure to Brexit of European regions. The highest levels are found for many of the UK's non-core regions in the Midlands and the North of England, many of which voted for Brexit. UK regions typically exhibit Brexit trade-related risks exposure of the order of 10–17 per cent of regional GDP, with Irish regions also displaying values of the order of 10 per cent of GDP. The Irish regions therefore have levels of Brexit-related risk exposure which are similar to the UK regions with the lowest levels of Brexit exposure, namely London and parts of Northern Scotland.

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Reference: • Guide to the Brexit negotiations, by the European Commission. • Public attitudes to Brexit in the EU27 (2018), by Eurobarometer. • The future partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom (2018),

a European Parliament study. • "Where Europe Would Be Hurt Most by a No-Deal Brexit", a New York Times article

summarising a range of studies. • The economic impacts of Brexit on regions, cities and sectors in the UK and the EU,

academic studies by an international consortium of universities led by the University of Birmingham: the focus here is primarily on the UK but there is also a good amount on the EU27 (cited in the New York Times article)

• Assessing the exposure of EU27 regions and cities to the UK's withdrawal from the European Union (2018), summary of the work done by the CoR.

• Assessing the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on regions and cities in EU27 (2018), a separate study commissioned by the CoR.

• A survey of local and regional authorities and local chambers of commerce on their assessment of Brexit and their preparations, by the CoR and Eurochambres.

• Mapping exercise of members of the CoR to ascertain the possible impact of the UK's withdrawal on their regions and cities.

• Impact on the UK -- trade, investment, immigration, social groups, living standards (2016), by the London School of Economics.

• Brexit and migration (2018), a briefing by the European Parliament with figures on migration.

• Brexit implications for employment and social affairs: facts and figures (2017), study for the European Parliament.

• The consequences of a no-deal scenario for transport and tourism (2018), study for the European Parliament.

• The impact of EU membership: consider the 'cost of non-Europe', which looks how much an economy is affected by EU membership. A 2018 working paper for the European Parliament is here.

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Annex 3: Briefings on the six thematic sessions (1) Social cohesion and integration in regions and cities Key messages: • The promotion of economic and social progress is a key objective laid down in the EU

Treaties. Strengthening its economic, social and territorial cohesion is one of the EU’s main objectives.

• Despite the fact that the EU is experiencing continuous growth for the last years, this does not always translate into an improvement of the living conditions for a significant number of EU citizens.

• New forms of employment and new technologies - if managed in a timely and effective manner - can be drivers for securing employment for more people. E-government and cross-border public services can also be of great value.

• Social innovation and the development of "smart cities" also play a key role in promoting social cohesion and integration.

Context Several EU initiatives are devoted to achieving social cohesion and integration, such as the “Agenda for New Skills and Jobs”, the “Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion”, and the “Social Investment Package”. The declaration of the “European Pillar of Social Rights” in November 2017 has foreseen great strides in the area of social cohesion and inclusion. However, the implementation of the European Social Pillar principles is largely under the responsibility of the Member States. The proposal for the EU long-term budget 2021-2027 intends to regroup the various programmes and funds around political priorities and citizens' concerns. Funding programmes, such as the European Social Fund+, InvestEU, Erasmus+, and the Globalisation Adjustment Fund will be particularly important in the field of social cohesion and inclusion. In March 2018, the Commission proposed a "Social Fairness package" containing proposals for the establishment of a “European Labour Authority” and for the social protection of workers and the self-employed, as well as the promise of a future proposal on a European social security number. Facts and figures

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• A Eurobarometer survey on public opinion in the regions3 shows that 18% of the population is concerned by "the economic situation in their region", which makes it the third most important concern after "healthcare" (34%), "unemployment" (30%), and climate change (19%).

• The top five regions where "the economy" is of highest concern are Cyprus (47%), Corsica (46%), North-East France (42%), Martinique and South-East France (both 38%).

• In 2017, 112.9 million people - 22.5% of the population in the EU - were at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

• Poverty and social exclusion affect every region in Europe; the number of people at

risk range from 7.2% of the population (Aland) to 55,6% (Sicily) 4 . Unemployed people are generally more prone to this risk (64.9%) with the highest share recorded in Germany (81,8%) and the lowest in Poland (51,5%).

(2) EU regions and cities building a sustainable future Key messages: • Regions and cities are at the forefront of the implementation of climate and energy

action. Isolated initiatives, however, and the know-how generated through their development and implementation are often not shared with other cities and regions at the EU level.

3 European Commission (2018): Public opinion in the regions, Eurobarometer Flash 472, November 2018 4 Eurostat 2016 data. Sicily improved to 52.1% in 2017, while Aland fell to 12.1%

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• The EU should provide a sound legal, political and financial framework within which regions and cities can develop their initiatives and achieve the transition towards a climate-neutral Europe.

• The success of climate change is closely linked to a successful energy transition. Success will rely on the capability of local and regional authorities to manage these challenges, to exchange best practices, and to take due account of local, regional and national specific constraints.

• Targeted effort is needed for those territories whose specificities add to the difficulty and urgency, for example as regards coal and carbon-intensive regions.

• The EU needs to further support the development of bottom-up implementation initiatives. Citizens expect that action to fight climate change, to promote energy efficiency, and to preserve biodiversity takes place at local level. A successful example of such approach is the Covenant of Mayors.

Context The EU has set itself the objective of making the transition to a low-carbon, climate-neutral, resource-efficient and biodiverse economy. Key climate and energy targets are set in the 2020 Climate and Energy Package; the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework, and the 2050 long-term strategy "A Clean Planet for all". These are in line with its international environmental commitments, including the UN's Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The 2020 package is a set of binding legislation to ensure the EU meets its climate and energy targets for the year 20205. The 2030 climate and energy framework sets three key targets6 for the year 2030 that also serve as the EU's international commitment under the Paris Agreement. All sectors of the economy need to contribute to achieving the agreed emission reductions. In 2018, the European Commission presented its long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate-neutral7 economy by 2050. Action in and by cities are required because: (a) they concentrate opportunities to address many of the causes and impacts of climate change on a systemic level; (b) city leaders can take action faster than other levels of government; (c) they can more easily innovate scalable solutions than other levels of government. Collaboration across all levels and sectors is key.

5 The tree key targets are: 20% cut in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels); 20% of EU energy from renewables; and 20% improvement in energy efficiency. 6 The three key targets for 2030 are: At least 40% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels); at least 27% share for renewable energy; at least 27% improvement in energy efficiency. The 2030 framework fixes two new targets for the EU for 2030: a binding renewable energy target of at least 32% and an energy efficiency target of at least 32.5% - with a possible upward revision in 2023. For the electricity market, it confirms the 2030 interconnection target of 15%, following on from the 10% target for 2020. 7 The objective for 2050 is an 80-95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990. It shows how Europe can lead the way to climate neutrality by investing into realistic technological solutions, empowering citizens, and aligning action in key areas such as industrial policy, finance, or research – while ensuring social fairness for a just transition.

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As of 2019, EU institutions will have to work together with Member States and local and regional authorities to ensure that the European ambition to lead the transition to carbon neutrality becomes a reality. The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (CoM)8 shows that local actors are at the forefront to fight climate change. The involvement of local and regional authorities is crucial to achieve the Paris Agreement objectives. The CoR has been supporting this grassroots movement since the beginning. Facts and figures • A recent Eurobarometer survey on public opinion in the regions9 confirms that 19%

of the population is concerned by "climate change and sustainable development", which makes it the third most important concern (after "healthcare" (34%) and "unemployment" (30%)). The top five regions, where "climate change" is of highest concern are: Tyrol (46%), Moravskoslezsko, Utrecht (both 43%, Gelderland, and Małopolskie (both 39%).

• Climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Floods in the European Region affected 3.4 million people and killed more than 1,000 in the period from 2000 to 2011. Climate change is projected to increase the occurrence and frequency of flood events in large areas of Europe. 10 Without adaptation, the number of people potentially affected by flooding every year by 2085 could increase from 775,000 to 5.5 million.11

• Cities are as vulnerable: 70% of cities are already dealing with the effects of climate change, and nearly all are at risk. Over 90% of all urban areas are coastal, putting most cities on Earth at risk of flooding from rising sea levels and powerful storms12.

• About 74% of the EU population lives in cities and urban areas account for 60 to 80% of global energy consumption and around the same share of CO2 emissions13.

• Cities consume about 75% of the world’s primary energy and are responsible for 70% of the world’s energy related carbon emissions14 (source: UN Habitat)

• Between 2004 and 2017, the share of renewable energy resources increased from 8.5% to 17.5% and 11 Member States already achieved the target of 20% or renewables as set by the "Europe 2020 Strategy"15. The picture at regional level is

8 https://www.covenantofmayors.eu/ 9 European Commission (2018): Public opinion in the regions, Eurobarometer Flash 472, November 2018 10 Jakubicka T et al. Health impacts of floods in Europe: data gaps and information needs from a spatial

perspective. A MICRODIS report. Brussels, Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, 2010. 11 Cizcar et al. Physical and economic consequences of climate change in Europe. Proceedings of the national

academy of sciences 108(7), 2678-2683 12 Source C40: https://www.c40.org 13 Source: European Commission (2019): https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/international/paris_protocol/cities_en 14 Source: United Nations-Habitat (2018): https://unhabitat.org/urban-themes/energy/). 15 Eurostat (2019): Renewable energy in the EU, news release 27/2019 of 12 February 2019.

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more complex and includes large variations, which also depend on the geography of resources and production from water, wind and solar energy16.

• Covenant of Mayors: 7,755 signatories in Europe (January 2019); 233,000+ actions in the CoM cities; 23% CO2 emissions reduction achieved in 2017; of which 64% in heating and cooling; 23% in transport; and 13% in electricity.

Recent works of the CoR • A Clean Planet for all - A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous,

modern, competitive and climate neutral economy (adoption planned for June 2019): This Communication by the European Commission will set the basis for the future of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable energy and other aspects of climate policy. We also have to keep in mind the recent IPCC special report on climate change. The role of cities and regions is fundamental and this opinion will analyse the EU strategy and provide input for the position of the CoR at COP25

• Multilevel governance and cross-sectoral cooperation to fight energy poverty (adoption planned for June 2019): The Clean Energy Package recognised the importance of tackling energy poverty and added explicit references to it in many Directives, the European Commission launched the Energy Poverty Observatory, which is creating a wide overview of energy poverty issues at a national scale, and the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy launched their third pillar on energy poverty. The opinion will deal with different topics related to Energy Poverty, such as the ones mentioned above, from a local and regional, multilevel governance and cross-sectoral perspective.

16 European Commission/JRC (2016): Regional patterns of energy production and consumption factors in Europe Exploratory Project EREBILAND - European Regional Energy Balance and Innovation Landscape

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• Implementing the Paris Agreement through innovative and sustainable energy transition at regional and local level (adoption planned for October 2019)): The main objective of the opinion is to analyse how innovation and properly implemented multilevel governance can drive territories towards a swift and inclusive energy transition and how this transition will contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement in line with the "rulebook" agreed at the COP24 in Katowice. In doing so, it will pay special attention to regions with specific needs. In particular it will provide input to the European Commission's Coal Regions in Transition Platform and the Clean Energy for EU islands initiative. The ENVE opinion will also focus on research and innovation, and contribute to the ENVE meeting organised alongside the SET Plan Conference in Bucharest, June 2019.

• Implementing the Clean Energy Package: the INECPs as a tool for local and territorial governance approach to climate, active and passive energy (adoption planned for October 2019): The main focus of the opinion is on the governance of the Energy Union regulation and on the role that LRAs have to play in the implementation of this regulation. The opinion strives to contribute to the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plans (INECPs) of the Member States (MSs) in order to take local and regional authorities fully on board. Regarding the INECPS, the opinion draws the attention to the role of local and regional authorities and stakeholders in the implementation of these plans and also provides a push to national governments to actively build on local and regionall authorities in this process as regards active and passive energy and the climate impacts.

• Climate governance after 2020: a European and global perspective – a contribution to the UNFCCC COP24 (July 2018): The Paris Agreement recognises the important role played by multi-level governance in climate policies and the need to engage with regions, cities and other stakeholders. The stepping-up of politically relevant, democratically elected stakeholders such as local and regional authorities in the global climate governance regime is a non-negligible trend and it is essential that the UNFCCC regulatory framework acknowledges this form of bottom-up governance by formally recognising its role in the decision-making process. Nationally determined contributions should include an aggregation of regionally and locally determined contributions to recognise the role of subnational authorities in the achievement of the international climate commitments and considers that, provisions should be enshrined in the Regulation on the “Governance of the Energy Union”, notably as regards the participation of local and regional authorities in the preparation of the “Integrated National Energy and Climate Plans”.

• Energy Union governance and clean energy (July 2017): The opinion calls for implementing more ambitious targets for energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy at EU level today and suggests they should be raised to 40% by 2030. Furthermore, the document calls for more EU’s support for sub-national cooperation and better recognition of the ambitious policies set up at local levels, highlighting almost 6,000 EU towns and cities, which have adopted sustainable energy action plans.

• Energy Efficiency and Buildings (July 2017): It is in the cities and regions that the energy transition is actually taking place. In this opnion, the CoR recommends developing this vision by indicating in what way the European Commission is

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supporting regions in the energy transition. The aims of smarter, cleaner energy for everyone; implementing the Paris objectives; supporting economic growth; promoting investment and technological leadership; creating new opportunities for employment; and improving people’s well-being. These proposals affect regional policy and the CoR sees a role for the regions in the implementation thereof.

• The role of waste-to-energy in the circular economy (November 2017): Waste-to-energy is acknowledged to be a necessary tool to move towards a more sustainable circular economy as it helps avoiding landfilling and generates energy. However, local governments ask to strictly respect the waste hierarchy putting waste prevention first. The opinion favours the creation of stable markets for products and materials based on secondary raw materials and of making every effort to reduce landfilling.

• EU Sustainable heating and cooling (October 2016): The EU is still highly dependent on energy imports. Heating and cooling currently account for 50% of the EU’s annual energy consumption. This represents 59% of total gas consumption and 13% of total oil consumption in Europe and a high potential for energy savings. In order to realise this potential, it is necessary to take measures to restructure the heating and cooling sector and to guarantee efficient heating and cooling.

(3) Territorial cohesion to bring EU's citizens together Key messages

• The Commission's proposals for a new EU cohesion policy represent a major step

towards simplification and reduction of administrative burden, and offer more differentiation and more flexibility, which can significantly increase the effectiveness of cohesion policy and its ability to achieve its objectives on the ground. For this it is however important that the principles of partnership and multilevel governance and the place-based approach are fully respected in the negotiation and implementation of the partnership agreements and operational programmes.

• Regions and cities need already to start the preparation of the next programming period, in order to enable a timely launch of the programmes. Regional development strategies are in this respect an important tool for setting objectives and funding priorities, ensuring synergies and complementarities between sectoral instruments and involving stakeholders, in line with a place-based approach to economic, social and territorial development.

• Territorial cooperation, including small-scale cross-border initiatives and people-to-people projects, is indispensable for exchanging expertise and best practice on key challenges and for building human links across borders, and can also play a decisive role in bringing EU's citizens together, building positive relations between people from different communities and backgrounds, and creating a sense of belonging to the common European project.

• Enhancing the visibility of cohesion policy measures and better communication of its achievements through concerted communication efforts at all levels of governance,

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including the regional and local level, can contribute to overcome citizens' disconnect with the EU, given that only a minority of citizens are aware of the positive effects of cohesion policy.

Context With the adoption of a package of legislative proposals on 29 and 30 May 2018, the European Commission kicked off the legislative process for the new cohesion policy after 2020. This package comprises the following legal texts: a new Common Provision Regulation, a new Regulation on the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund, a new Regulation on European Territorial Cooperation and a new proposal for a Regulation on the European Social Fund Plus. Since then, both co-legislators have been working on their positions on the various legislative files, whilst the European Committee of the Regions brought forward its recommendations in a series of opinions, which were adopted at its plenary session on 5 and 6 December 2018. The European Parliament, which aimed at finalising its position before the end of the current mandate in May 2019, adopted the committee reports on European Territorial Cooperation and on the European Social Fund Plus on 3 December 2018 and took a partial vote at first reading on these dossiers on 16 January 2019 in Plenary, providing the respective committees with the mandate to enter into the interinstitutional negotiations with the Council. The report on the Common Provisions Regulation, which was voted in the EP Plenary on 13 February 2019, whilst the vote on the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund is expected to be taken in then EP’s Regional Development Committee in February and in Plenary in April 2019. In the Council a draft "negotiating box" was elaborated by the Presidency, putting together all those issues that should not be addressed in the negotiations on the individual legislative files, but within the framework of the high-level negotiation on the Multiannual Financial Framework. This concerns in particular the cohesion policy budget and its allocations to Member States, the transfers of financial allocations between Funds and to other instruments, eligibility rules, co-financing rates, and decommittment rules. The discussion on the legislative files in the Council's Structural Measures Working Party (SMWP) put an emphasis on the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR), where the work on the legal provisions focused on three blocks: (1) Programming and strategic planning, (2) management and control and (3) enabling conditions and performance framework. In addition, the SMWP discussed also the various fund-specific regulations part of the Cohesion package. Following a policy debate on the legislative package for cohesion policy in the General Affairs Council meeting of 30 November 2018, the Permanent Representatives Committee reached on 19 December 2018 and 30 January 2019 a partial negotiation mandate on the three above mentioned blocks. It is expected that the trilogue meetings on these three blocks could start immediately after the votes in EP Plenary. However, as the current mandate of the European Parliament ends with the European elections in May 2019, the legislative process will

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need to continue under the new mandate of European Parliament and a new Commission, which is expected to take up its work in November 2019. Facts and figures Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) stipulates that the EU aims at strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion by reducing regional disparities, with particular attention to be paid to the least favoured regions and areas with special territorial features. EU cohesion policy helps to address these challenges via the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, and the Cohesion Fund. With a budget of EUR 351.8 billion in the years 2014-2020, and a planned budget of EUR 330 billion for the 2021-2027 period, therewith amounting to almost one third of the total EU budget, cohesion policy is the EU’s main investment policy and its principal means of supporting SMEs, the low carbon economy, transport infrastructure, the integration of people into the labour market and the social inclusion of the disadvantaged. It also plays a major role in supporting innovation and cooperation between regions, cities and municipalities from different Members States, as well as cooperation with the private sector, knowledge institutions and social partners at regional level. The added value of cohesion policy and its significant contribution to the positive economic, social and territorial development in the European Union has recently been confirmed by the 7th Cohesion report, which pointed out that by 2023 the EU GDP is expected to be more than 1% higher as a result of cohesion policy investments (after taking account of their financing), with highest impact in main beneficiary countries, but also with overall positive impact in net contributor countries, not at least due to spill-over effects in those countries. In most Member States, it is in the least developed regions where investment relative to GDP is largest and where the impact is greatest, which is in line with the mandate for cohesion policy as enshrined in the Treaty.

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Recent works of the CoR Cohesion policy is the key European instrument to ensure the promotion of economic, social and territorial cohesion within the EU. It is one of the most visible EU policies at local and regional level, demonstrating the benefits of Europe to its citizens. Securing a strong and effective cohesion policy after 2020 is therefore a key political priority for the CoR. In 2017 the CoR was the first European institution that laid down its position on cohesion policy post-2020 with the adoption of its report on "The future of cohesion policy beyond 2020". More: https://cor.europa.eu/en/our-work/Pages/OpinionTimeline.aspx?opId=CDR-1814-2016 This work was complemented by a series of reports in which the CoR put forward its recommendations for simplifying cohesion policy. Based on its early positioning, the CoR was able to launch together with the main European associations of local and regional authorities the strategic #CohesionAlliance. The objective was to send a clear message to the EU institutions on the importance of securing a strong cohesion policy for all regions beyond 2020. Since its launch in 2017 more than 10.000 supporters, thereof 450 organisations and institutions, have joined the #CohesionAlliance. More: https://cor.europa.eu/en/engage/Pages/cohesion-alliance.aspx The long-standing work of the CoR on the future of cohesion policy beyond 2020 and its alliance-building paid off in the legislative proposals for the new cohesion policy post-

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2020, (published in May 2018), and which took on board a number of key recommendations of the CoR:

• cohesion policy will remain available for all regions in Europe, which was one of the main concerns of the CoR and the #CohesionAlliance;

• the three categories of regions (less developed regions, transition regions, developed regions) will be maintained

• improvements are made for simplification and more flexibility. Following the presentation of the legislative proposals by the Commission, the CoR prepared in the semester of 2018 its position on the various dossiers. These positions (on the "Common Provisions Regulation", "European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund", "European Territorial Cooperation", and "European Social Fund Plus") were adopted at the Plenary Session of 5 and 6 December 2018. More: https://cor.europa.eu/en/news/Pages/european-parliament-backs-regions-and-cities-proposals-for-a-strong-cohesion-policy-2021-27.aspx (4) Active subsidiarity: shaping Europe together Key messages • The EU needs a change in the way decisions are taken and policies are made. The

union needs to provide effective laws that bring real added value and meet the expectations of Europe's citizens. This can only be achieved by ensuring that all levels of governance can contribute to developing the added value of EU legislation throughout all phases of the EU decision-making– this is 'Active Subsidiarity'.

• Subsidiarity needs to be stripped of unnecessary and often incorrect meanings that have been attributed to the term. It requires that the EU only acts when it is more effective than the national, regional or local levels in tackling certain issues.

• Local and regional authorities have valuable first-hand experience in applying EU legislation, in close contact with local businesses, social partners, civil society and citizens. There is a need to make use of the knowledge of cities and regions at an earlier stage of the EU legislative process and benefit from their experiences in implementing EU legislation. As the institutional voice of regions and cities in the EU, the CoR is uniquely placed to collect the contributions of local and regional authorities for that purpose. The “RegHub” pilot project is a direct effort to do so.

• To reap the benefits of 'Active Subsidiarity', all actors – EU, national, regional, local - need to cooperate: multi-level governance needs to be applied throughout EU decision-making. To ensure this, the EU needs to be more receptive to local and regional input. At the same time, local and regional authorities need to ensure they can deliver results when they have the chance to contribute.

Context

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The concept of 'Active Subsidiarity' originated from the Task Force on Subsidiarity, established by European Commission President Juncker. It underlines that subsidiarity requires EU legislation to provide added value to its citizens and that all levels of governance have a role in developing that added value. The Task Force put forward nine recommendations and 36 concrete actions as ways of developing 'Active Subsidiarity' in Europe. More info: https://cor.europa.eu/cs/news/Pages/a-new-way-of-working.aspx In 2019, the CoR will maintain its efforts in promoting and implementing 'Active Subsidiarity' and the Task Force recommendations. It will organise the 9th Subsidiarity Conference, hosted by the Italian Conference of the Presidents of Regional Parliaments, in Rome on 22 November 2019. One of the Task Force recommendations was that "the Committee of the Regions should launch a pilot project for a new network of regional hubs to collect and channel the views and hard information about the implementation of legislation. The Task Force thinks the initiative could potentially plug the current data gaps and improve the evaluations of legislation". The aims of “RegHub” are to collect the experience of cities and regions in implementing EU legislation; to establish a new way of working and a new cooperation system between the CoR and the EU institutions in providing first-hand experiences on the implementation of EU legislation on the ground. The launch of the pilot phase of the project has been welcomed by the European Commission and should run for two years. More info: https://cor.europa.eu/en/news/Pages/Better-EU-Laws-new-network-of-Regional-hubs-meets-for-the-first-time-in-Brussels-.aspx With the change of European Commission later this year, it is however still to be seen if “Better EU Regulation” will remain a priority and if the new Commission will take up the recommendations of the Task Force in its work.

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Facts and figures • Roughly 70% of EU legislation is implemented at the local and regional level

• Cities and regions have first-hand experience in applying EU legislation, in close

contact with local businesses, social partners, civil society and citizens. Yet they have limited impact on the shaping of the same legislation. While the CoR, as the representative of EU regions and cities, provides input through its consultative work, it is not involved in the legislative phase of EU policymaking

• While cities and regions can provide input to the European Commission through open consultations (for example the 'Have your say' website), we can see some issues with them providing feedback via the Commission's consultations. Since 2016, less than 1% of all feedback received was from local and regional authorities. This is due to a number of reasons, among which are the lack of visibility for these feedback opportunities and the lack of feedback from the EU institutions on the local and regional input provided.

• Eurobarometer surveys regularly confirm that citizens have higher trust in local and regional authorities than in EU institutions and national governments. This was also confirmed in the context of 200 citizens’ dialogues carried by the CoR in its “Reflecting on Europe” campaign17.

• There are 281 regions in the EU28 and around 80,000 local authorities. There are 74 regional parliaments and assemblies with legislative powers.

17 European Committee of the Regions (2018): Reflecting on Europe, Final Report

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• The “RegHub” pilot project has a "core group" of 20 regions included into the project, as well as an "associated group" of 17 hubs. It is foreseen to run for two years. If evaluated positively, a network of regional hubs throughout the EU will be established with the financial support of the EU18.

• The EU regions selected to participate in the “RegHub” project gathered on 31 January 2019 in Brussels for their first meeting. In 2019 the network will concentrate its work on three EU policy areas having significant repercussions at local and regional level, namely public procurement, air quality and cross-border health-care.

18 For more information on the “RegHub” project, see: https://cor.europa.eu/en/engage/Pages/network-regional-

hubs-implementation-assessment.aspx

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(5) Strengthening European democracy: citizens' participation through local and regional authorities Key messages • Local and regional politicians represent the most trusted level of government. • Listening to citizens' and local and regional authorities' concerns and meeting their

expectations is crucial to promote solidarity, cohesion and proximity in the EU and to increase its democratic legitimacy.

• A mechanism for an EU permanent structured consultation with citizens, cities, regions and civil society organisations could be established building up on the experience developed in the CoR, the European Economic and Social Committee, and other EU institutions.

• Citizens' consultation should reach out to those who are often ignored or not interested in the EU to ensure a genuinely inclusive dialogue.

• The local level is the right place to start engaging citizens in the shaping of the European Union, especially on issues closer to the daily concerns of people.

• An EU permanent structured consultation with citizens should require a coordinated and approach agreed between the EU institutions in order to peak with a single voice.

Context Citizens’ dialogues, also called citizens' consultations, aim at bringing new voices and ideas into the debate on the future of Europe. Structured as town-hall-type meetings, they allow citizens to debate, exchange views and speak freely with their representatives. Participants have included Commissioners, Members of the European Parliament, the European Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee, as well as representatives of European, national, regional or local authorities. In his State of the Union speech in 2017, the President of the European Commission stated that the EU needed "to take a democratic leap forward". He proposed that national Parliaments and civil society organisations at national, regional and local level be more involved in the reflection on the future of Europe. He also supported President Macron's idea of organising democratic conventions across Europe in 2018 . He proposed a roadmap culminating in a special Informal meeting of the EU Leaders of in Sibiu on 9 May 2019 to prepare the Strategic Agenda 2019-2024 for the future of the EU. This gave the organisation of citizens' dialogues a new momentum. In March 2018, a Joint framework on citizens' consultations was agreed between the 27 Member States: each of them committed to organise such events and report on the results. In parallel, the European Commission launched an online consultation on the Future of Europe. The CoR took the debate to Europe’s regions, cities and municipalities through the ‘Reflecting on Europe’ campaign, whereby members held local events with citizens in their regions and cities to listen to their views. Complemented by an EU-wide online survey, the feedback formed the basis of the CoR report "Reflecting on Europe: the voice

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of local and regional authorities to rebuild trust in the European Union" adopted in October 2018. In its conclusions of 14 December 201819, the European Council welcomed the holding of citizens' dialogues and considered them an "unprecedented opportunity to engage with European citizens, which could serve as an inspiration for further consultations and dialogues". It also acknowledged that the exercise identified "a number of concerns and expectations on the part of the citizens in terms of concrete results from the EU". It committed to discuss priorities for the next mandate at the informal meeting of Heads of State and Government in Sibiu on 9 May 2019. It is interesting to note that, even if citizens' dialogues or citizens' consultations are not new to the EU, the ones on the future of Europe displayed some interesting features: they (a) referred to a broad, EU-related topic; (b) are not organised in the framework of an electoral campaign for European elections; and (c) applied a common framework and format shared at EU level. As regards future developments, the European Commission is working on new formats for citizens' dialogues, including multilingual cross-border events with citizens from two or three Member States, as well as online dialogues through Facebook live and other channels. Facts and figures As confirmed by Eurobarometer surveys, the levels of trust in local and regional politicians have been significantly above the one for national governments or the EU. In the most recent survey, 54% respondents said they trust most the local politicians compared to 42% for the EU and just 35% for national governments20. While these figures vary between Member States, they only varied little over the past years. As shown in a recent Eurobarometer21, trust in the EU at regional level has gone up by eight percentage points since 2015 and now stands at 59% on average. The top five regions with highest trust were Eastern and Midlands (81%), Stockholm (80%), Luxembourg (79%), the Lisbon region (79%), and Västsverige (78%). The map below shows that trust levels not only vary between Member States but also within them.

20 European Commission (2018): Standard Eurobarometer 90.2 (November 2018) 21 European Commission (2018): Public opinion in then regions, Eurobarometer Flash 472, November 2018

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Finally, recent research on the results of 63,000 electoral districts in the EU between 2013 and 2018 looked into the vote for populist and eurosceptical parties22 . It confirmed that votes for them increased between 5 and 10 percentage points and now stand at around 25% for parties which are either "somewhat" or "strongly opposed" to the EU.

22 Dijkstra, Lewis/Poelman, Hugo/Rodriguez-Pose, André (2018): The geography of EU discontent, Working

Paper 12/2018 published by the European Commission, Regional and Urban Policy DG

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Such "geography of EU discontent" can be correlated to regions suffering from economic decline. The authors of the study suggest to implement place-based regional and social policies, which are accompanied by elements of citizens' participation and their involvement in such policies.

In September 2017, the French President Macron invited Member States to hold citizens’ consultations on the future of Europe, an initiative which 26 of the 27 heads of states and government agreed upon. Up to December 2018, over 1,200 such events were held in EU27. The future of citizens’ dialogues was addressed in a “non-paper” published by the Presidents of the European Committee of the Regions CoR and the EESC on 14 December 201823. In that paper, they suggest a “permanent mechanism for structured consultations and dialogues with citizens”, which would involve regional parliaments and assemblies, local authorities, and social partners’ and non-governmental organisations with the objective to impact on the EU policy cycle on a regular basis. This note provides some insight into the on-going debate and further examples of citizens’ involvement in policy-making and related research. Recent works of the CoR The campaign on "Reflecting on Europe" has already been mentioned in this note. The most relevant CoR works include. • European Citizens' Initiative (March 2018, October 2015): Both reports highlight the

importance of strengthening legal and political participatory instruments, such as the European Citizens' Initiative in order. This is needed to respond to the perceived

23 Online here: https://cor.europa.eu/en/our-work/Documents/SOTREG/3878-factsheet%20B%20BaT.pdf

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democratic deficit of the European Union and to bridge the gap between citizens, EU institutions and policy makers.

• Reconnecting Europe with its citizens — more and better communication at local level (December 2014): The report stresses the importance of mobilising people and raising public awareness about the European project, setting quantifiable and measurable objectives - it suggested inter alia that all EU institutions together should hold ‘500 citizens’ dialogues over a five-years period’ in all EU member states and ‘not only in capital cities’.

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Source: European Committee of the Regions, Future of Europe campaign in a nutshell, October 2018, https://cor.europa.eu/en/engage/Pages/Future-of-Europe.aspx

(6) What young local and regional leaders expect from the EU Key messages • Education, training and youth policies come under the EU competences of

“supporting cooperation” between the member states and hence are in the remit of national governments; in some countries, however, regions and cities are involved in implementing EU strategies and programmes.

• The EU needs to take account of regions and cities having varying competences over education and youth policies;

• Public opinion in all EU member states tends to be in favour of a bigger say of the EU in the field of education and youth policies.

• Better training of local and regional politicians in EU affairs is needed, as suggested by the CoR who has been calling for some time for an “Erasmus for locally and regionally elected politicians”.

Context The “Europe 2020 Strategy” includes targets such as to reduce the rates of early school leavers below 10% and ensure that at least 40% of 30-34 year-olds complete higher education. In addition, the “European Pillar of Social Rights” highlights the right of every citizen to quality and inclusive education, training, and life-long learning. Between 2014 and 2020, the Erasmus+ mobility programme has supported four million young students, trainees, apprentices and volunteers. EU cohesion policy, and in particular the European Social Fund, also invests in people's skills and qualifications. With regards to the next mandate of the EU institutions (2019-2024), the EU budget proposal made by the European Commission in May 2018 suggests doubling funds for the Erasmus+ programme, while at the same time tripling the number of participants to 12 million. With a view to regional aspects of education, training and youth policies, one finds significant differences between and within EU member states, e.g. on youth unemployment, governance, and the level to which regions are responsible for financing of related institutions. More recently, the “brain drain” from eastern and southern regions as well as the debate on young people’s engagement in politics, in particular in view of the 2019 European elections, have been subject of public debate. Facts and figures24 • A recent Eurobarometer survey on public opinion in the regions25 confirms that 66%

of the population have an optimistic view on the future of their regions". The top five

24 If not stated otherwise, all figures from Eurostat’s Regional Yearbook 2018 “Statistics explained“. 25 European Commission (2018): Public opinion in the regions, Eurobarometer Flash 472, November 2018

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regions in this respect are: Voralberg (93%), Burgenland (92%), Tirol, Baden-Württemberg (both 90%), and Niedersachsen (88%).

As regards the participation of young people (15-24) in the European elections, surveys after the 2014 elections confirmed that this age group was less interested in elections (31% said they never vote compared to 24% of the average of EU28 population)26.

26 European Parliament: Post-election survey 2014, October 2014

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Recent polls confirm that about one in three Europeans would like to see more young people standing as candidates in the European elections27. On the other side, 71% of young people would vote for “remain in the EU” in case a national referendum would be held, more than the average (66%)28.

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27 Eurobarometer 477: Democracy and elections, September 2018 28 European Parliament: Eurobarometer 90.1 (Parlemeter), October 2018